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Wild West Show at Tucson Showdown

May 1, 2004 – Pat Lawlis

The women's divisions of the Tucson Showdown, played April 17-18, 2004, was an example of the Wild West at its best. Nineteen teams rode in from 5 states to shoot it out in double elimination competition.

The 60/65+ division contained the 60+ Las Vegas Desert Neons, the 65+ Arizona Rancherettes, and the 65+ Blue Diamonds. After beating the Blue Diamonds 9-2, the Rancherettes had high hopes that their 5 run equalizer would give them the advantage they needed against the younger Neons. It didn't work out that way, however, and the Neons breezed to victory, first putting the Rancherettes into the loser's bracket 9-5. After the Rancherettes eliminated the Blue Diamonds 7-0, the Neons finished them off 25-6.

In the 55+ division, the competitors were the Arizona Sunsets, the Silver Gloves, and the Silver Saints. After the pool play, the competition came down to a shoot-out between the Sunsets and the Saints. The Saints shot the Sunsets down 17-1 in the first game, only to have the Sunsets get back up and fight to the finish. However, after being staggered by two comebacks, the Silver Saints had the knockout punch and put the game away in the 7th inning, 16-10.

The 50+ division was the largest, with the Desert Storm, DS Girls, Estrogen Connexxtion, Las Amigas, Senior Moments, Sierra Vista Hot Flashes, Silver Gloves, and Tucson Classics. The World Champion Tucson Classics showed up with too much fire power for any of the other teams, however, walking away with the crown with victories over the Desert Storm 25-1, Sierra Vista 29-2, and the Hot Flashes again 27-0.

In the 40+ division, the competitors were the Bad Catz, NM Lumbre, Phoenix Firebirds, Senior Saints, and Tucson X. The Senior Saints breezed through the winner's bracket with wins over the NM Lumbre 21-2 and the Firebirds 11-0 to advance to the championship game. Meanwhile, the Bad Catz had been ambushed by the Firebirds in their first game 18-7, so they had to work their way through the loser's bracket, squeaking by the NM Lumbre 8-7 and getting revenge against the Firebirds 10-5 before getting to meet the Senior Saints for the championship. No holds were barred as the Catz and the Saints slugged it out, with the lead changing hands back and forth until the Senior Saints came to bat in the bottom of the 8th, down by 4 runs, scoring 5 to win 24-23.

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